Mike Slater

Thu 17 March 2022 19:55, UK

Rangers didn’t have it all their own way this evening as they limped past Red Star to make the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

The Bears had a three-goal lead but did concede early after poor defending from a short corner in the opening 10 minutes.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst, thankfully, saw his men settle and finally seal their spot in the quarter-finals of this major tournament, despite a 2-1 defeat on the night.

Ibrox News rated the players out of 10 below…

Allan McGregor – 9

Wow, what a night for Greegsy. The veteran stopper has silenced critics with his performance in recent weeks, and this was the top of the lot with numerous outrageous saves. It would have been a 10 if he could have kept that clean sheet – could do nothing about the late penalty.

James Tavernier – 5

It was a strange evening for the skipper, with nothing he tried really coming off. He often lost numerous challenges, but also his delivery from set-pieces, a huge weapon, was nowhere near good enough.

Connor Goldson – 6

The whole of the back four struggled throughout, but Goldson did stand up to the physical challenge ahead of him more than others around at times.

Leon Balogun – 6

Usually so dominant in both boxes, the Nigerian found it hard to get to grips with the physicality of the front two of the home side. That didn’t see him shy away, though, and he did his job when required after a shaky start.

Calvin Bassey – 4

Nothing the young defender tried really ended up coming off in the end. Bassey spent more time on the floor after slipping than doing anything positive in and out of possession.

Ryan Jack – 8

Back in the Scotland squad this week, Jack topped off the perfect seven days with another big performance here. The midfield were all superb and made all of the difference at the end of what could have been a tough evening.

John Lundstram – 9

Wow, this is the player we were all expecting when he first arrived from Sheffield United over the summer. Lundstram has been huge in Europe, and he was the standout man outfield this evening, winning everything in his path.

Glen Kamara – 8

Kamara could have been the one to drop out for someone such as Scott Arfield as that is how Van Bronckhorst has named his side in this competition. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case – Kamara was superb in that free-roaming role, getting the brilliant assist for Ryan Kent.

Joe Aribo – 3

Hard to think of one positive contribution that Aribo had on the game. It has been a quiet couple of months for the playmaker and it was a surprise that he stayed on for as long as he did in the end.

Ryan Kent – 6

Another one who had a quiet evening, but that doesn’t matter when you can spring to life and put away the all-important goal in the end, showing good composure.

Alfredo Morelos – 1

Wow, we have not seen this level of stinker from Morelos in months. Ever since Van Bronckhorst arrived at Ibrox, the Bufalo has been incredible, but he has to take criticism after tonight. With the result positive, we can accept one off-night, the Colombian can’t be expected to shine every week.

Substitutes;

Scott Arfield – 5, James Sands – 5, Scott Wright – N/A.

In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart has shared his reaction to a ‘huge’ development at Ibrox in the past week